Fall Rising
by ice shredder
Summary: "She was right about you. Such arrogance." Cinder's thoughts as she becomes the Fall Maiden. Short one-shot. Spoilers for Vol 3 Ep 11. Enjoy!


**Title: Fall Rising**

 **Fandom: RWBY**

 **Author: ice shredder**

 **Disclaimer: not mine, RT owns every aspect of this crazy, awesome insane show.**

 **Spoiler heavy for Vol 3 Epi 11. And just for the record: I'm a NON-SPONSOR who's impatient and reads the comment thread for the eps, lol. So don't be rude and cuss me out like one reviewer did on 'Pole Disruption' my Pyrrha-centric one-shot. It's childish and immature and they know who they are.**

 **FYI: if this ficlet's giving off 'Attack on Titan' vibes, then it's completely unintentional. I'm just keeping with the darker atmosphere of the show.**

 **That being said, enjoy and don't forget to review! :)**

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She'd done it. After years of scheming and recruiting and adapting to the near-derailement caused by those annoying kids, she finally accomplished the first part of her goal.

Every step, meticulously calculated right down to shadowing the blond boy as he ran with his teammate towards the underground vault beneath the school where her prize awaited.

Fall's power coursed through her body, the gnawing emptiness that plagued her from the second that Huntsman interrupted the transfer on that deserted mountain road sated at last.

 _Stupid fool,_ she thought staring down one of the men responsible for holding the Four Kingdoms captive with iron gloves. _You and your corrupted ilk deserve to die. You thought soothing the masses to sleep by letting the Maidens become a fairy tale would keep the Grimm at bay. But you're wrong. Peace is an unnatural state Ozpin. It's fragile and given the right conditions, easily broken. You of all people should know that._

And now she knew the names of the rest of the fools who failed to protect their precious charge, lying dead in an Atlas medical pod with a black arrow through her soft throat.

The result was everything she hoped for.

James Ironwood and Glynda Goodwitch she knew from extensive research. But it was the third name that caught her attention.

Qrow.

Mercury's sparse description of a man wielding a scythe and smelling like cheap booze flashed through the Maiden's mind. _It has to be him. There's no more doubt. But he's too late._ A cruel smirk twisted her lips. _Just like every other woman in his life._

Fire swirled in blurred arcs around her body, the only heat source in the darkened vault. The true candidate turned Maiden grinned as she halted the blond boy's futile charge with a single blast of fiery energy, blowing him back.

 _Stupid boy. Know your place._

Cinder reveled in the Nikos girl's frantic screaming as she pounded on the glass lid. Felt no fear as she punched it off with her Polarity and snatched up her weapons.

But Ozpin, that stupid, stupid _foolish_ man stopped her to issue his final orders.

"Take Jaune and get out of here! Find Glynda! Ironwood! Qrow! Bring them here right away! The tower cannot fall."

 _Oh but it will you old fool._

She smiled at his statement.

"But I can help."

Ozpin's sigh and the girl's feeble protest were like music to her ears. _Typical hero bluster,_ she thought. _Damn fools never learn do they? There's no reward in being a self-sacrificing buffoon but death. Throwing one's life away for another? How ludicrous. No point enjoying the fruits of one's labor if you're a corpse. Where's the fun in that?_

"You'll only get in the way."

She tracked the kids as they ran past her out of the vault to get help, but it wouldn't do any good. By the time they returned the tower would be in ruins.

"This whole time. Right beneath our feet." Cinder stated, cold vengeance dripping from every word, staring the green-clad Headmaster down who didn't even flinch. "She was right about you. Such arrogance."

As the Maiden stood her ground against this foolish, outdated relic, she allowed herself one final thought before focusing on the battle before her.

 _It's way too late. Accepting that Rose girl into your school two years early was the peak of your arrogance Ozpin. And I'll make sure it'll be your final mistake._

 **-end**

 **Guys I'm legit scared and excited for the finale. Gotta feeling more people are gonna die and it's not the bad guys. (Sorry guys, Roman getting swallowed alive doesn't count until I see the body for myself. Plus we all know Ruby has an INSANE amount of luck, until it runs out.) Plus the MC plot armor surrounding her is kinda getting on my nerves but eh, with all the death and chaos and Cinder the Fall Maiden, what else could go wrong?**

 **Not that I'm complaining. But I gotta feeling Beacon and Vale are both gonna fall along with the CCT tower and Cinder destroying the vault to unleash unholy hell on our heroes, scattering them out across Remnant.**

 **Bring on Vol 4! :)**


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